Tamarind Tree

- An Indian Folk Story

One of the most beautiful of our trees is the Tamarind tree. The leaves are tiny and delicate, and they make a beautiful tracery against the sky. It is said that there was a time when the leaves of the tamarind tree were large and thick, allowing neither rain nor sun to penetrate through them to the earth. This is the story of how they came to be split into the thousands of tiny, green, delicate leaves you see to-day.
Shri Rama, Lakshmana and Sita had vowed to live in exile from Ayodhya for fourteen years. And for fourteen years they had vowed too, to live the stern life of sanyasis. For food, they had taken nothing but roots and fruits and berries that grew in the forests. And they quenched their thirst with nothing but the sparkling water of forest springs. They cast away their royal dresses made of silk and gold, and clothed themselves in coarse garments of bark, as befitted sanyasis.


And they wowed to live as wanderers, sleeping upon no bed save that of the green grass and fallen leaves and under no roof save that of the sky. Thus they lived, seeking no comfort and braving every hardship and stress.

One night, they happened to sleep under a tamarind tree. While they slept, a great storm arose. The wind howled through the forests like a raging demon, and the lightening flashed through the skies. The rain beat down on them, but under the tamarind tree, the wanderers slept peacefully, for they were weary and the rain could not reach them through the thick leafy roof overhead.

Thus sheltered, they slept until a crash of thunder woke Shri Rama. In surprise, he looked around him. The storm was raging still. But, beneath the tamarind tree, he and his companions had been sheltered from its fury - as well sheltered as if they had been under the roof and within the four walls of a house.

Then Shri Rama remembered their vow of asceticism and woke his brother. ‘We cannot rest here, Lakshmana,’ he said, ‘for according to our vow, we may have no shelter or protection above our heads. Pick up your bundle. Let us move on." Next, he put a hand upon the sleeping Sita, who stirred in her sleep and whispered ‘Rama!’ But, she did not wake up.

As she moved, Rama saw how tired she looked, lying upon that grassy bed. For her pillow she had a stone. She who had been a delicately nurtured princess, who in her palace had never laid her head on anything but the softest silk. A coarse bark cloth covered her and the forest grass was all about her.

So he let her sleep. And in her sleep, she looked more beautiful and serene than she had done at any other time. Rama thought of how she had walked with them over bushes and thorns across stony mountain paths, through fearful dark forests till her tender feet had bled, and never once had she complained. Always she had been bright and cheerful, asking only that she be with Rama.

Seeing her now, so peacefully asleep, he had not the heart to disturb her. He went back to Lakshmana saying : ‘She is asleep; I have no heart to wake her up. what can we do, my brother? If we remain here, we shall break our vow. And if we move, we must take her with us.’

Then Lakshmana smiled and nodded his head : ‘My brother,’ he said. ‘I know a way.’ And rising, he took his bow and with carful aim he shot his powerful arrows upwards at the thick leafy roof overhead.

And lo, the arrows of Lakshmana went one by one through the tamarind leaves and shattered them. Each leaf split into the thousand tiny ones. and the rain came pouring through them and the ascetics were sheltered no more.

Ever since then, to this day, the tamarind leaves have remained split !

Rainbow

- An Indian folk story

Once upon a time, many years ago, the sky looked down upon the young Earth, and he found her so beautiful in her flowered robe that he fell in love with her, and when he found that the Earth returned his love his joy was unbounded.


The Sky and the Earth agreed to marry and the day of the wedding was fixed without further delay.

The hour of midnight was decleared to be the auspicious time for the wedding, and preparations were made for the great occasion. The pipers and drummers and the sellers of gold and silver and precious stones came from far and near. The Earth put on her most beautiful robe, all green and flowered. She wove for her bridegroom and garland of the most beautiful folwers of many colours to throw about his neck, and she waited breathlessly for his arrival, arrayed in silken robes.

But, the people of the Earth looked on these preparations with dismay, for they were afraid that if the Earth were to live with the sky as his wife, there would be no dwelling place left for them. And they prayed to the gods to stop the wedding from taking place.

Now when the gods heard the plea of the mortals, they took pity on them. They began to seek for a means of stopping the marriage. At last, Vishnu thought of a plan. When the gods heard what it was, they were pleased.

The night came when the Sky and Earth were to be married. The Sky bridegroom put on his shining jewelled crown and silken blue robe and came riding down to the Earth where she stood blushing and beautiful to receive him. Meanwhile the pipers and drummers began to play and the priests chanted their prayers. As the hour of midnight approached excitement filled the air, for then the Earth would throw the garland of flowers round her bridegroom’s neck, and they would be married.

But Vishnu and the gods were waiting to carry out their plot. Vishnu had disguised himself as a cockerel, so that no one knew his presence as he strutted over the roof in the light of the moon. The auspicious hour began to strike and at that instant Vishnu, the cockerel, crowed loudly from the house-top : ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo!’

There was a wild scramble among the guests. ‘It is dawn,’ they cried. ‘Come, let us go back to our work, for the night is over and day is here.’ The pipers ceased to pipe and the drummers to drum, and they too left the place.

And the priests stopped their chanting and put away their holy books saying, ‘The auspicious hour of midnight has passed and now, you cannot be married.’ And the gods tore the Sky from the Earth and took him back to his home in the heavens, leaving the Earth standing alone with the garland in her lands and tears in her eyes.

‘Come back, my lord,’ She cried. But the sky could not come, for the ausipicious hour had passed. Then the Earth in her grief flung the many coloured garland at the Sky and it fell about his neck.

But the hour had passed, and never could the lovers marry.

Sometimes you can see the garland that the Earth made for the Sky, as he wears it about his neck. We call it the Rainbow. Everytime he wears it, his tears flow as he remembers the lovely Earth and his interrupted wedding.

Isn't it a lovely story ?